Mayberry, Phillies power past Reds

John Mayberry Jr. clubbed a two-run home run, scored three times and finished with three RBI as the Philadelphia Phillies crushed the Cincinnati Reds, 12-5, in the opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

Ryan Howard crushed a solo home run among his two hits and had a pair of RBI. Chase Utley knocked in two runs, while Domonic Brown added a two-run double for the Phillies, who have won three straight games. Erik Kratz contributed a solo shot, as the Phillies beat the Reds for the 12th time in the last 13 meetings.

"When he gets a good pitch to hit, he hits it," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of Mayberry. "His bat's quicker. He has to learn to hit right handed pitching."

Roy Halladay (7-7) allowed five runs on 10 hits and a walk over seven innings to bounce back from a loss to Miami his last time out. B.J. Rosenberg, Antonio Bastardo and Josh Lindblom completed the rout out of the bullpen.

Jay Bruce went 3-for-3 with two RBI, while Devin Mesoraco and Chris Heisey each drove in a run for the NL Central-leading Reds, who have dropped two of their last three.

Mike Leake (5-8) allowed seven runs on 10 hits and a walk with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

"Leake couldn't get the ball down," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "There were too many pitches up in the zone."

The Reds opened the scoring with a pair of runs in their first at-bat. Zack Cozart, Heisey and Brandon Phillips all singled, and Bruce doubled to bring home Cozart for the first run of the game. Phillips then raced home on a groundout by Scott Rolen.

Philadelphia got a run back in the bottom of the frame courtesy of an RBI single by Howard.

Howard ripped a fastball off the facing of the second deck in right field to tie the game in the third. Kratz deposited one into the left field stands to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead in the fourth, but Cincinnati came right back to grab the lead in the next inning.

Mesoraco started the frame with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Leake. Heisey then doubled home Mesoraco and Bruce drove in Heisey with a single. Phillips then scored while Bruce was caught in a rundown between first and second to give the Reds a 5-3 lead.

The Phillies put four on the board in the home fifth. Juan Pierre started the rally with a one-out single and scored when Utley ripped a double into the left-center field gap. Utley came home on a single by Mayberry and Brown capped the outburst with a two-run double to right field, putting Philadelphia on top, 7-5.

The hosts added three more runs in the sixth. Jimmy Rollins started the inning with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Utley. Mayberry yanked a fastball from Jose Arredondo down the left field line and into the seats just inside the foul pole.

Pierre beat out an infield single in the seventh, which allowed Placido Polanco to score. Kratz capped the blowout with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

Game Notes

Prior to the game, Polanco was activated from the 15-day disabled list and Hector Luna was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley ... Monday marked the start of a 10-game homestand for the Phillies in which they will face Cincinnati, Washington and the New York Mets ... Pierre stole third base in the first inning and reached 30 steals for the 11th time in his career ... Philadelphia has beaten Cincinnati seven consecutive times ... The Reds fell to 27-11 since the All-Star break.